Arc-welding machine



Sept. 17, 1935. R NQTVEST 2,014,813

' ARC WELDING MACHINE Filed Dec. .9, 1955 tllhll ffifi "PATENT FFEQE' airmen AEG=WEMB9HNG traumas lltohert Notvest, Hndianapolis, Hind, assignor to Adams lvllanuifacturing Gompany, llndi= anapolis, limit, a corporation of Hndiana Application Decemher 9, i933, No. M11545 3 Claim.. (El. l'ill l s) In electric-arc welding it is customary to con== welding machine in partial section; and Fig. 2 vert the usually available GO-cycle alternating is a front elevation of the machine. current to direct current in order to obtain an arc The machine illustrated in the, drawing comhaving the necessary stability. This conversion prises a hollow vertical cylindrical casing, con 5 is effected by the use of rotary converters pro-= veniently formed of two superposed portions id 5 vided with suitable regulating apparatus for con= and l l, which may he of equal diameter and setrolling the direct-current produced. cured together by any suitable means.

In many situations it is advisable to mount a Within the lower casing-portion id 1 mount the rotary converter intended for use in arc welding motor, the stator l2 of which is conveniently supupon a mobile truck in order that it can be readily ported from a bottom plate it which closes the m moved to situations where it is needed. Such lower end of the casing-portion l2. l'he rotor M- converters, mounted upon trucks and provided of the motor is mounted upon a centrally diewith the necessary current-regulation apparatus, posed vertical shaft it which, at its lower end, have become known as arc-welding machines. is rotatably supported from thehottom plate it 35 Because of current requirements, the parts of a through an anti-friction thrust hearing l6. This welding machine are relatively heavy, and in hearing'is conveniently a deep-race hall hearing. order to support the rotating parts of the ma- The shaft [15 extends upwardly into and chine for rotation upon a horizontal axis, as has through the casing portion it, and within the been the universal practice, the shaft upon which limits of such casing portion has mounted upon 23 such rotating parts are mounted must he of large it the rotating element it or the generator. The diameter in order to possess the necessary field or stationary element ill of the generator is strength and rigidity to prevent deflection. supported in proper axial position directly from Welding machines are customarily used in lac the wall of the casing-portion ll. tories where dirt and dust abound; and this fact, 0n the upper end of the casing-portion it i coupled with the vibration which inevitably ocprovide a head 2i into which the shaft 115 ex- 25 curs as the result of the deflection of the hori-= tends. The upper end of the shaft may he rotat zontal shaft of the machine, contributes greatly ably supported from the head it by means of an to hearing wear and commutator wear. The anti-friction bearing 22. problem of preventing access of dust to the wear- Within the head 26, there is mounted upon the 39 log surfaces is egrceptionally serious where the shaft iii the usual commutator 23. The head 2i 3 dust includes iron particles, which are attracted also contains the usual brush and brush-adju toward the machine as the result of magnetism. ing mechanism by means of which the output It is the object of my invention to produce a voltage is regulated. These last mentioned elewelding machine which will overcome some of the ments are not illustrated in the drawing, as they disadvantages of prior machines of which i". am are well known. 3b aware. More specifically, it is my object to pro- In the side wall of the head ill 11 provide a series duce a welding machine which will be more free of openings 26 through which air may enter the from vibration than old machines, and one in casing of the machine. Conveniently, these open-= which wear resulting from the presence of dirt lngs are covered by a sheet-metal band 25 having 49 and dust will be materially decreased. an annular series of louvers over the openings In carrying out my invention, it depart from lit. If desired, the end wall of the head 2i may he standard practice and mount the elements of the provided with one or more air admission openmotor-generator set which constitutes the weldlngs El.

ing machine in superposed relation and concen- Near the lower end or" the casing-portion ill trio with respect to a vertical axis. The shaft I provide a series of air-discharge openings dd.

which carries the rotating elements of the motor Like the" openings 2 the openings 3t! may he and generator is supported in its vertical-position covered by an enclosing hand 36" of 'sheet metal by means of an anti-friction thrust bearing. For having louvers 32.

the-machine I provide an enclosing casing having Within the casing, and conveniently between s 9 a series of air admission openings at its top and the driving and driven elements of the converter, 5% a series of air discharge openings near its bot- I mount on the shaft l5 a fan by means of tom, means such as a fan being provided within which cooling air is drawn in through the lcuvers the casing for circulating air therethrough. 26 and openings 26, passed downwardly through The accompanying drawing illustrates my inthe casing, and discharged through the louvers 55 vention: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved 32 at the bottom thereof. 55

The necessary meters with which a welding machine is provided may be mounted upon the upper end wall of the head 2|, as indicated at 40, while a control box H containing the electrical control apparatus may be mounted on the side of the casing.

In order to provide for mobility of the welding machine, it may be wheel-supported. As shown in the drawing, the bottom plate [3 of the casing is provided with two depending cars 45 near the back of the machine, such ears serving to sup port an axle 46 upon which wheels 41 are mounted. A second axle 48 carrying wheels 49 is mounted at the opposite side of the machine as through the medium of ears 50 projecting outwardly from the lower casing-section Ill. Handles 5| secured to the casing permit the machine to be tilted about the axis of the larger wheels 49 to raise the smaller wheels 41 from the floor, and the machine may then be moved to any desired location.

Depending upon the character 01 current desired for the welding arc, the driven element of the converter may be either a D. C. generator or an A. C. generator providing a frequency different from that available for driving the machine. Oi course, it the driven element is an alternator, slip rings will be substituted for the commutator 23, but such slip-rings will be located at the upper end of the machine within the head 2|.

It is to be noted that the air drawn into and passed through the casing is admitted at a considerable distance above the floor level and will therefore be relatively free from dirt and dust.

- Any iron particles attracted upwardly from the floor toward the machine by magnetism are prevented i'rom entering by the air-stream emerging at the bottom of the machine. It is to be noted further that the commutator (or the slip rings) is also disposednear the top of the machine. This is of great importance, because the presence of dust and dirt in contact with the commutator or slip rings would tend to promote rapid 5 wear. The presence of dust or dirt in the lower part of the casing is not so objectionable, for the motor may be of the induction type and therefore free of slip rings.

The vertical-axis mounting of the rotating ele- 1 ments of the motor and generator have a particular advantage when the converter constitutes a welding machine, which undergoes an abrupt transition from no-load to full-load operation when an arc is struck. The resultant severe force-reactions within the machine, which are in planes transverse to the shaft, are transmitted between the rotating and stationary elements more satisfactorily than if the entire weight of the rotating elements appeared as a radial load on the bearings.

I claim as my invention:

In a welding machine, a vertical hollow cylindrical casing, a central vertical shaft rotatably supported within said casing, an electric motor in the lower portion of said casing, a generator in the upper portion of said casing, said motor and generator including rotary elements mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, said casing being provided above said generator with air-inlet openings and below said motor with air-discharge openings, a fan mounted on said shaft for forcing air downwardly through said casing, said motor being smaller in diameter than said casing to provide an annular air passage, and wheels upon which said casing is mounted.-

ROBERT NOTVEST. 

